Well-being Evidence for Policy

Transcription

1 Well-being Evidence for Policy ALICE RAP, 23 April 2013 Laura Stoll Centre for Well-being, new economics foundation

2 About nef An independent UK think-and-do-tank a bridge between researchers and policy-makers Well-being programme set up in 2001 to ask: What would policy look like if it focused on improving well-being Currently working with a number of bodies to advise on well-being measurement and policy, including UK Office for National Statistics, Eurostat, Eurofound, the Local Government Group, Department of Health, European Social Survey.

3 Understanding well-being

4 The dynamic model of well-being flourishing Good feelings day-to-day and overall e.g. happiness, joy, contentment Good functioning and satisfaction of needs e.g. to be autonomous, competent, safe and secure, connected to others External Conditions e.g. material conditions, work and productivity, income (levels and stability) Personal Resources e.g. health, resilience, optimism, self-esteem,

5 Wellbeing economics Extensive exploration of what objective factors are linked with reported life satisfaction. Income Work and time use Social relationships and trust Personal characteristics Natural and immediate environment Regional factors External Conditions Good feelings day-to-day and overall

6 Flourishing views of well-being Corey Keyes: The two continua model of mental health and illness Felicia Huppert: the operational definition of flourishing Martin Seligman: Flourish 51 and Perma Positive emotion Engagement Relationships Meaning Accomplishment Good feelings day-to-day and overall Good functioning and satisfaction of needs

7 What is involved in eudaimonia? Some suggestions: Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs autonomy, competence, relatedness, security lead to intrinsic motivation (Deci and Ryan, 2000) Flow: undertaking challenging but controllable tasks that require skill and are intrinsically motivating (Csikszentmihalyi,1990) Good functioning and satisfaction of needs

8 Causes & benefits of positive emotions While personal resources fixed character traits. now evidence from positive psychology about what we can change, e.g.: Learned optimism as an explanatory style (Seligman 1998, 2002) Using character strengths, focusing on the positive, expressing gratitude (Seligman et al, 2005)..also : The Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotions (Frederickson, 2001) Good feelings day-to-day and overall Personal Resources

9 The evidence base: what we already know about policy and well-being

10 Policy areas we reviewed The Economy Unemployment income, income inequality, welfare, unemployment, inflation, job characteristics, hours worked, commuting Unemployment is strongly negatively correlated with various measures of subjective well-being. This relationship exists over a range of national and international datasets, although the size of its effect seems to vary across countries and across studies. Although some people with lower well-being may be more likely to become unemployed, these selection effects do not explain the size of the relationship between unemployment and wellbeing. Health physical health, psychological health, physical activity, smoking, sleep Although people may adapt somewhat to being unemployed, the effect does not seem to completely disappear. The loss of well-being far exceeds that expected from the reduction in income associated with Education unemployment. and care National and regional unemployment rates have been found to reduce subjective well-being. education, children s services, informal care However the effects of individual unemployment on well-being seem to be partially neutralised in high-unemployment regions.

11 Policy areas we reviewed Local environment physical environment, urban spaces, housing, pollution, climate Community Strong social networks and time spent socialising are positively associated with subjective Community well-being. There appears to be a positive relationship between volunteering and subjective well- social activity, membership of organisations, volunteering, trust, being, and altruistic behaviour promotes subjective well-being. governance There is a positive relationship between subjective well-being and membership of (nonchurch) organisations. Regular engagement in religious activities is positively related to well-being. Personal characteristics Social trust (trust in other people) and trust in key public institutions is found to be age, gender, associated marriage with higher and life satisfaction relationships, and happiness having children, ethnicity, genetics Being single is worse for well-being than being in a stable relationship.

12 Using the results in policymaking

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14 Five ways to well-being Commissioned by the UK government s Foresight Project the brief was to build on the findings of the outputs of the Mental Capacity and Wellbeing Project, and develop an evidencebased wellbeing equivalent of the health promotion dictum five fruit and vegetables a day.

15 Thank you